The present invention relates generally to control systems and methods for automated processing of parts such as jewelry and the like through a series of work stations, and is particularly concerned with a control system and method for an automated processing apparatus carrying out a material removal process.
Since the jewelry industry evolved into a manufacturing industry rather than a simple hand crafting industry, there has been a need for an automatic method and apparatus for grinding, polishing and repair of jewelry, as well as for initial creation of jewelry without casting. Some of these tasks are still typically carried out by hand, and jewelry making is still a very labor intensive process. For a typical jewelry manufacturer, the initial creation of a jewelry piece is carried out by casting. This involves creating a master model out of steel, creation of wax copies of the master, and then using an investment casting process to create a final jewelry piece out of precious metal alloy. This process creates sprues and requires coarse grinding as well as fine grinding and polishing in order to finish the piece. In this process, over 60% of the labor time is dedicated to finishing the piece of jewelry. These tasks are typically carried out by hand, with each individual piece of jewelry handled separately. The task of grinding and/or polishing of jewelry typically consists of holding a piece of jewelry against a turning grinding wheel. Such a process is monotonous, and also can present a health hazard due to the dust created during the procedure.
The existing jewelry manufacturing processes are time-consuming and labor intensive. In some areas, the quality of the jewelry piece is strongly dependent on the operator. There is therefore a need for automation of at least part of the jewelry manufacturing process in order to produce a more economical, consistent and predictable product with potential savings in precious metal.
Robotic commercial systems have been used in the past to perform some jewelry finishing processes, but typically only in finishing of rings. Such robotic systems, for example the Ring Grinding and Polishing System of Superior Robotics, Inc. of Ontario, Canada, can perform the steps of sprue removal from a ring, grinding the shank on the outside of the ring, pre-polishing the outside of the ring, grinding the inside of the ring, and pre-polishing the inside of the ring. However, this system cannot handle any other types of jewelry and can perform only these limited operations. The robotic control system has distributed software, with part working on the robot's controller and the other part on a separate computer or PC. This means that the software is not readily adaptable to different hardware components. There is therefore a need for an improved automated apparatus for jewelry processing, and for a control system and method for controlling operation of such an apparatus.